2010 Belmont Stakes Hopefuls

Updated on May 29, 2010

2010 Belmont Stakes

The 143rd running of the Belmont Stakes comes on
Saturday, June 5, 2010. The Belmont
Stakes is the third and last leg of the Triple Crown, and the most demanding of
the three races because of its 1-1/2 mile length. With no potential for a Triple Crown winner
in 2010, the Belmont Stakes has less of a spotlight on it than the first two
races – the Kentucky Derby (won by Super Saver in 2010) and the Preakness
Stakes (winner Lookin’ at Lucky). The
major contenders in the Derby and Preakness have chosen to forego the Belmont
Stakes, leaving a wide-open race next Saturday.

Dave In Dixie

In the last two Derbies and a number of other races, jockey
Calvin Borel has proven apt at upsetting the top horses in a race by riding the
rail. In this Belmont Stakes, Borel
picks up a ride on Dave in Dixie, a son of Dixie Union and Risk. Dave in Dixie has a best Beyer of 95 and a
dosage index of 1.67, meaning that on paper and according to an equation based
on his pedigree he should be able to run a classic distance and may be able to
handle the Belmont’s longer distance. However,
in five starts, the dark bay colt has won only one race and finished second
once. He comes off a 5th
place finish in the April 3 Grade 3 Illinois Derby. Dave in Dixie is trained by John Sadler.

Drosselmeyer

This well-bred colt is by top sire Distorted Humor and out
of Grade 1 stakes winner Golden Ballet. With
a best Beyer of 96 and dosage of 1.75, he shows promise as a long-distance
runner. The chestnut colt has eight
starts with two wins, three seconds and two thirds. In his last start he finished second to Fly
Down in the Grade 2 Dwyer Stakes.
Earlier in the year, trainer Bill Mott and owner Winstar Farm groomed Drosselmeyer for the Kentucky
Derby. However, he failed to earn enough
winnings to qualify for the start.

First Dude during a morning workout. (Photo courtesy flickr.com)

First Dude

Named for Sarah Palin’s husband, First Dude has shown plenty
of potential in his last two starts.
Though he finished third in the Grade 1 Blue Grass Stakes, he rallied in
the Preakness Stakes to lead to the half, put away Super Saver at that point,
and fought for a well-earned second by less than a length to Lookin’ At Lucky. The bay son of Stephen Got Even and Run Sarah
Run has a best Beyer of 95 and dosage of 3.00.
He has one only a maiden win in seven starts but has four second place
finishes and a third. First Dude is
trained by Dale Romans and ridden by Ramon Dominguez. He should be a contender for the Belmont win,
especially if he gets to the front and is allowed to set the pace.

Fly Down

Fly Down is a lightly raced son of Mineshaft and Queen
Randi. His best Beyer is a 99 and dosage
is 4.00, showing that he may be more suited to a shorter distance than the
Belmont’s mile and a half. Fly Down was
well-beaten in the Grade 2 Louisiana Derby in his first graded stakes, but
rallied from that loss to win the Grade 2 Dwyer Stakes. In that race, his last start, he came from
last place and, with a six length lead, was still pulling away from
Drosselmeyer at the finish. He is trained
by Nick Zito and ridden by John Velazquez.

Game On Dude

Trained by Bob Baffert, Game On Dude is another lightly
raced entry. With five starts and two
wins, he may be out of his league in the Belmont Stakes. Baffert gives the ride to his Preakness-winning
jockey, Martin Garcia. The bay colt by
Grade 1 winner Awesome Again started last in the Grade 3 Lone Star Derby where
he won by 4.5 lengths.

Ice Box Wins Florida Derby

Ice Box comes from last place to win the Florida Derby.

Ice Box

In March Ice Box overcame 23-1 odds to win the Grade 3
Florida Derby. He proved to doubters
that his win wasn’t a fluke when he rallied from 19th to finish
second in the Kentucky Derby. Ice Box
likes to run towards the back of the pack before coming for the lead so a slow
pace in the Belmont could hinder his racing style. The chestnut son of Pulpit and Spice Island
has a best Beyer of 91 and a dosage of 3.36, with three wins and a second in
eight starts. With Ice Box, Nick Zito
brings a 1-2 punch to the Belmont Stakes.
Jockey Jose Lezcano gets the ride on Ice Box who will likely be the
heavy favorite.

Make Music For Me

The bay son of Bernstein and Miss Cheers has only one win in
nine starts but he showed real potential in the Derby when he rallied from 20th
to finish 4th. Trained by
Alexis Barba and ridden by Joel Rosario, Make Music For Me has a best Beyer of
99 and a dosage of 3.31. Like Ice Box, a
slow pace will hinder his running style, but previous races have also shown
that this colt can run close to the pace.
He may be a serious contender in the Belmont.

Spangled Star

This longshot has never raced at a distance longer than
1-1/16 miles. His only win comes in a
maiden race, though he came from being a 28-1 longshot in the Grade 3 Withers
to finish third. By Distorted Humor and
out of the Kris S. mare, Spangled, Spangled Star is trained by Rick Dutrow and
will be ridden by Garrett Gomez.

Stately Victor

Stately Victor was a 40-1 longshot who was completely
dismissed as a possible contender for any major race when he won the Grade 1 Bluegrass
Stakes. A month later he finished eighth
in the Kentucky Derby, proving that he can compete against the country’s top
horses. The son of Ghostzapper is
trained by Mike Maker and ridden by Alan Garcia. He has a best Beyer of 95 and a dosage of
1.91, with two wins and a second in nine starts.

Stay Put

A chestnut colt by Broken Vow and out of O.K. Kris, Stay Put
is trained by Steve Margolis and ridden by Jamie Theriot. He won two races in December and January then
finished fifth in consecutive races in the Grade 2 Risen Star and Louisiana
Derby. Stay Put will likely be
outclassed in the Belmont and not a factor at the finish.

Uptowncharleybrown

Another horse who likely won’t be a factor. Trained by Kiarin McLaughlin,
Uptowncharleybrown has thus far found graded stakes company too difficult,
finishing third in the Grade 3 Sam F. Davis and Grade 2 Lexington, and fifth in
the Grade 3 Tampa Bay Derby. The chestnut
colt is by Limehouse and out of La Iluminada.

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Comments 5 comments

A good hub. I like the way you broke down all of the entries in the Belmont.

billyaustindillon 6 years ago

Thanks for the tips :)

cvanthul 6 years ago from Florida Author

Thank you, kingis. Glad you enjoyed my hub. I'm looking forward to the Belmont this year even without a Triple Crown winner.

Billyaustindillon, good luck if you're betting. Personally I like Ice Box and First Dude, but Dave in Dixie might be a good longshot pick, especially with Borel up and if he has enough gas in the tank. Stately Victor also. He was impressive in the Blue Grass.

KKalmes 6 years ago from Chicago, Illinois

Hello cvanthal, thanx for informative hub, my father used to take us to the track up here in Illinois... he could have used the info... linked to my newest hub.